Tourism Ireland, Marketing the Island of Ireland Overseas

Tourism Ireland Wins Prestigious Golden Spider Award

25 Nov 2009

Tourism Ireland, the organisation responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas, has scooped the top prize for ‘Best Use of Film’ at the prestigious internet awards, the Golden Spiders. Tourism Ireland won this award for its online video project, GO, a series of short films featuring real characters from around the island of Ireland who introduce their local area and take viewers and potential holidaymakers on a tour of their favourite ‘hidden gems’.

Earlier this year, Tourism Ireland launched a nationwide search for people whose infectious enthusiasm for their favourite part of the island would help sell the destination to potential visitors across the world. The resulting series of ten short films was posted on Yahoo, YouTube, Facebook, WAYN and on Tourism Ireland’s suite of 41 websites, discoverireland.com, giving potential visitors an insight into the real experience of a holiday on the island of Ireland.

The online films have certainly proved a big hit; they have been translated into five European languages and have already been viewed by over half a million people worldwide. In research carried out by Tourism Ireland, two-thirds of people who had viewed the promotional movies said they were more likely to visit the island of Ireland as a result.

Accepting the award, Mark Henry, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Central Marketing, said: “We are delighted that our online video project GO has been singled out for this recognition. This was a new and innovative approach for us to engage potential holidaymakers around the world with the wonderful experience that a holiday here offers them. Allowing our local characters to showcase their favourite places gives a great feeling of authenticity for potential visitors, as well as providing them with that inside track on great things to do and experience all over this island. It is a unique promotional tool and a first for Ireland, as no other national tourist board has done this before.

“Tourism Ireland is constantly looking at innovative and engaging ways of reaching potential holidaymakers across the world and is increasingly using ‘new’ media to do so. This campaign harnessed the diverse range of digital media, including social media, online editorial content, user generated content, online direct marketing, banner advertising and a global media partnership with Yahoo.

“A big thank you to all of our local heroes for doing their bit to promote tourism to the island of Ireland during this difficult year. It is their sheer passion for their localities that makes these videos resonate so well with potential visitors”, Henry added.

Tourism Ireland fought off keen competition in this category from other entrants including IDA Ireland, Coors Light and TV3.

The GO films are an integral part of Tourism Ireland’s global advertising campaign, Go Where Ireland Takes You. They bring to life the spontaneous and engaging nature of a holiday on the island of Ireland, which are core themes of the ad campaign.
The annual Golden Spider awards honour individuals and organisations from around the island of Ireland for their outstanding achievements online and celebrate the successes of the Irish internet and digital media. This is the second Golden Spider award for Tourism Ireland – in 2005 the organisation collected the award for ‘Innovation of the Year’.